This invention relates to a one-piece dead-front electrical housing of high strength which is inexpensive to manufacture and extremely safe and convenient to use.
Most common electrical housings are of the so-called live-front type, where access to the terminals within the housing is obtained through the face or front of the housing. These housings generally use a removable insulating disc as the face or front member, the disc being removable to secure access to the internal terminals. A high level of care is required in both the wiring and subsequent use of these housings, to provide safe and trouble-free service.
Electrical housings of the dead-front type are known. In these housings, the face or front member is not removable, but simply contains apertures through which electrical contact can be made to the enclosed terminals. Access to the terminals for wiring purposes is provided from behind the face or front and, when the wiring is completed, the terminals are generally enclosed by a casing or cover. Electrical housings of the dead-front type are generally safer both during the wiring operation and subsequent use. However, they generally comprise more parts, are more costly to produce, and less convenient to use than live-front housings, and consequently they have not come into widespread use and acceptance.